Sinclair ZX-80 was $625 in today's prices when it was released in 1980. Not too crazy.
EDIT: You could get an assembler/dis-assembler for the ZX-81 for $20 (1982). Also at the time a lot of software was "shared" between enthusiasts.
EDIT: You could get an assembler/dis-assembler for the ZX-81 for $20 (1982). Also at the time a lot of software was "shared" between enthusiasts.
But get into anything like a PC clone--much less anything with a hard drive--and the prices went up fast.
Of course the real Apple II competitor from Sinclair was the ZX Spectrum.